Hebrew-Aramaic Amulet from Aleppo
4th–7th Century
A proper amulet. Write (?) this phrase, the holy one. His name is venerated through great ones and through the holy ones. Ramiel adorns Yah. My help is I-am, I-see, I-am, I-see. Yah, Shaddai, living God. (An incomprehensible sequence of words; in the following such words are indicated by dots) . . . yhwh, I-am, yhwh, God, Shaddai, who (is) God . .…
Babylonian incantation texts from late antiquity far outnumber extant Palestinian incantation texts. Nevertheless, the Jews of Roman Palestine had their own amulet tradition. Palestinian amulets, most of which date from the fourth to seventh centuries CE, were written on thin plaques of metal and were then rolled up and worn as phylacteries on the body or placed in private homes or synagogues. The medium of metal and the fact that the amulets were meant to be worn may explain the fragmentary nature of the surviving texts.
Related Guide
Late Antique Syro-Palestinian Amulets
Related Guide
Ancient Jewish Magical Texts and Artifacts
Magical practices played a greater role in ancient Judaism than is sometimes realized.
Related Guide
Jewish Daily Life in Roman-Era Palestine
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